청자 상감 구름 학 무늬 매병 고려|靑磁象嵌雲鶴文梅甁 高麗|Maebyeong (plum bottle) decorated with cranes and clouds

Art Historical Context

This elegant maebyeong, or plum bottle, was created during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) in the second half of the twelfth century, a period celebrated for the refined beauty of Korean ceramics. Standing 13¼ inches tall, the stoneware vessel features a graceful, rounded body that tapers elegantly toward the neck, a shape originally designed to hold blossoming plum branches. Its surface displays cranes soaring among stylized clouds, rendered through the sophisticated sanggam inlay technique in which white and black slips were carefully inserted into carved designs before the application of the ...